Lionsex + Judgement Day + The Neons + Shadow Faxtory - 6th August 2009
Reviewed by Martin Stapleton
Thursday showcase nights in the bar have rather passed me by in the last few weeks, so it was good to catch up on one this evening. The unexpected is here.
Luton's Shadow Factory are a young band who bring us some good old-fashioned rock. Featuring Dec (guitar, vocals), Max (drums), Chris (guitar) and Robert (bass), they may be on unfamiliar ground but are immediately given a warm welcome. I am drawn to their second song and it's slight singalong chorus of "We won't surrender, we won't back down". At first glance it looks like "The Plan" is working perfectly for Shadow Factory. Crowd response, although slow to begin with, starts springing into action. The rather frenetic force is dropped a notch for "Won't Let It Go", although this song does bring a differing response from the band itself. Dec says "it's for prog fans", while I tend to side with Robert who thinks "it's a ballad". They may disagree, but it does show the mellow and quieter side. A stunning outro from their myspace offering and they were gone. It's good to report that they hung around to check out all the other performers. Sad to say that some bands rudely don't!
The evenings variation is exemplified totally by Mr Bedford Alternative Music himself. Keith announces thus - "We've got a mixed bag tonight! No we haven't, she's gone out for a fag!" Boom boom! Oh dear, 1970's situation comedy lives on!!
Unfortunately, due to circumstances not made apparent, indie kids The Neons are reduced to a boy/girl acoustic duo. Sandwiched between a lot of hairy sweating metalheads, this could have proved tricky but the youngsters, despite obvious nerves, were undaunted and win everyone over with their cheeky charm. Sharing vocals, the pick of the set were "Escapologist" and "Celebrities".
With elements of death metal combined with a thrash outlook, Judgement Day are Zbigniew 'Zolo' Cnotalski (drums), Mariusz Kowalczyk (guitar), James Goldsworthy (bass) and Pawel 'Zielony' Zielezinski (guitar, vocals). It's clear from their opening sampled segment of audio newsreel of the 9/11 terror attacks in America that this is a band who put political material high on their list. Very loud and ultra heavy, frontman Zielony looks almost satanic as he delivers his crusading and mesmerising songs. Long flowing black hair, wild goatee beard and a regular penchant for raising his arms skywards at every given opportunity, at times it really is "Metal madness". The old skool "Whiter than Snow" is riveting, while "Dark" is heavy, heavy, heavy. The bass player is amazing, all the more so when you consider that he is blind. He tells us how important the clock is to us in everyday life. We are totally ruled by it, as they perform "Time is the Perfect Killer". Intense and controlled throughout, "Random Act of Violence" is the second consecutive song inspired by fighting. "Jihad Joe" is a cutting tirade about the bomb attacks. "Part of Me" reflects domestic violence. A performance that very nearly razes the Esquires carpet.
Lionsex end the evening. A bunch of glam-rockers from Milton Keynes, two of the young band members have obviously struck lucky and stolen their mum's make-up bag! Plenty of lipstick and eyeliner, not to mention copious cans of hairspray. I do, however, find it a tedious set of cliches when they tell us "We want to put the sex and drugs back into rock'n'roll!". No amount of illegal substances could possibly raise my interest in this rehashed turgid drivel. A cover of "Rebel Yell" is possibly the lowest moment, but it is a flat end to a good evening.